DEFENCE
in ground operations.
A&AEE's evaluation of the
PC-9 was generally favour
able. Four essential changes
were called for; a hand pump
is needed for hydraulic system
bleeding, the nosewheel steer
ing is to be deleted as it was
found to be "not necessary",
gaps in the cockpit floors need
to be covered to avoid possible
foreign object damage, and
the positioning of the cockpit
hand-held fire extinguishers
was criticised. "Desirable"
changes include a reduction in
the rudder-trim authority.
A&AEE's PC-9 evaluation
found that the aircraft's spin
characteristics were good, and
the ability to recover hands
off, if needed, is praised as an
excellent safety feature. Aero
batics sequences from a
15,000ft base height were no
problem, and at 5,000ft it was
found necessary to reduce
power to prevent a gain in
speed and height when flying
the same sequence. Overall
aerobatic performance of the
PC-9 is described as—
"excellent". On practice
forced landings the PC-9 is
described as having similar
characteristics to the BAe
Hawk, particularly on the
final approach.
The A&AEE concludes that
PC-9 handling is good, partic
ularly in aerobatics, stalling,
and spinning. In the circuit
and on landing, the aircraft is
described as excellent for
instruction, and the PC-9 is
formally assessed as "very
suitable for the Royal Air
Force basic training role."
F'.na'f offers
Best and final offers
(BAFLs) for the four trainer
contenders (AAC/Wesiland
A.20 Wamira II, BAe/Pilatus
PC-9, Hunting Firecracker,
and Shorts Tucano) were
delivered on January 31. The
original BAFL day was
January 24, but Shorts
requested a week's deferment.
The trainer selection is
expected to be made at the
Equipment Purchasing Com
mittee's March 7 meeting—
the BAFLs are commercially
viable until March 31. But
Whitehall says that the deci
sion will not be made public
until "mid-spring". Flight
sources tip "mid-spring" to be
due just before Parliament's
Easter recess, so that the
Government can avoid some
of the flak from the losing
companies.
Airship in chase for naval work
LONDON
The US Navy last week issued
a request for proposals for its
battle surveillance airship
system CBS AS), and the UK
company, Airship Industries,
teamed with US partners
Westinghouse, is confident of
providing the solution.
Proposals will be processed
by the middle of the year and
could lead to six-month
funded feasibility studies for
up to three consortia. AFs
main competitor will be Good
year, teamed with an as yet
unspecified partner. Other
teams are not apparent yet.
AI will offer its Skyship
5000. This is a concept airship
of about 70,000m'1 with an
overall length of between
120-140m depending on the
exact length/diameter ratio,
which has not yet been
settled.
The 5000 will house a West
inghouse phased-array radar
antenna with a range of 200
n.m. for a primary function of
air and surface surveillance.
Both anti-submarine warfare
and command, commu
nication, and control (C'!) will
be important, secondary roles.
The 5000 will he armed with
guns, air-to-air missiles, and
ASW weapons as required.
As yet, the 5000 is only a
design. Despite AI's more
stable financial position,
following the entrance of the
Bond Corporation with an
81 • 5 per cent holding in the
company, AI cannot afford to
develop the 5000 alone. The
project depends on .jemg
Government funded. Further
AI expansion hangs in the
balance over development of
the new airship. AI is trying to
convince the Royal Navy that
the 5000 will meet the UK's
Offshore Patrol Vessel
requirement (OPV 3).
AI is teamed with Ferranti
for OPV 3 and claims that an
airship, rather than a surface
vessel, solution to the require
ment will be "significantly
cheaper". The unit cost of a
Skyship 5000 will be about
£25 million, while a
conventional surface patrol
vessel will cost £35 million,
says Nick Greenwood, AI's
UK sales manager.
Operating cost for a 14-day
mission by an airship will be
£10,560 as opposed to £67,771
with a patrol boat. Cost per
mile surveyed, says Green
wood, will work out at £0-87
for an airship at 2,000ft and
£8-10 for a surface vessel.
The RN requires a replace
ment for its Island- and
Castle-class patrol vessels. So
far the requirement has not
been formally identified in a
Naval Staff Target, although
shipbuilders were approached
last July for consultative
submissions to aid definition
of the NST.
The RN plans OPV3 to
advance in two stages. First,
part-funded development
contracts for up to three
consortia will be let. Phase 2
will be full contract award.
Among AI's chief com
petitors will be the Hall-
Russell shipyard of Aberdeen,
makers of the Island- and
Castle-class patrol vessel.
Teamed with British Aero
space Dynamics, Plessey, and
CAP Scientific, Hall-Russell
is proposing a longer, more
powerful, version of the
Castle-class ships.
The 5000 will be equipped
with two turboprop vectorable
propulsors for vertical take
off and landing and yielding
a maximum speed of about
90kt. Two cruise engines,
lightweight turbocharged
diesels, will also be fitted for
long-endurance missions at
speeds between 20-45kt.
Ferranti will be responsible
for weapon systems and radar.
Ferranti's Seaspray radar,
currently used on the West-
land navai. Lynx, will be a
radar option. The 5000 will
have a maximum lifting
capacity, including crew, fuel,
and equipment, of 73,500kg.
AI dismisses criticism that
the ship would be vulnerable,
claiming that a bullet would
merely pass straight through
the envelope and the craft
could sustain considerable
damage before coming to
grief. With a helium pressure
of less than 0-1 p.s.i., leakage
rate would not be a problem.
AI says that an airship will
be affected by wind in a simi
lar way to a surface vessel, but
will have the advantage of not
being affected by the sea.
The company says that it
can continue to build non-
rigid ships up to about
100,000n/ but, as it cannot
foresee the need to build
larger than that, does not
anticipate developing rigid
ships, which would be more
expensive and vulnerable.
If the RN goes ahead with
OPV 3 and the US Navy
follows up its current interest
in BSAS, development of the
two versions of the 5000 could
be simultaneous. Whether the
UK MoD will be willing to
fund development of an
airborne patrol vessel and
whether the US Navy will be
persuaded to buy a British-
built system is unclear.
AI says its partnership with
Westinghouse on the BSAS
programme will be significant
help in breaking into the US
military market,. Roger Munk,
AI's technical director and
chief designer, says that it is
only a matter of convincing
the RN that an uncon
ventional answer to the OPV
3 requirement is the right one,
to swing the RN in favour of
Skyship 5000. He is less opti
mistic that the UK MoD will
be prepared to fund devel
opment of the system.
AI plans to develop a civil
variant of the 5000, capable of
carrying 230-250 passengers.
Civil development will be an
offshoot of military work.
B-l pilot's
widow sues
LOS ANGELES ~
The widow and children of
Rockwell B-l A test pilot
Tommie Douglas Benefield
have filed a wrongful death
suit against manufacturers of
3-1 components. Benefield
died on August 29, 1984, when
the B-lA crashed in the
Mojave desert, California,
during flight-tests.
Benefield and two crew-
members ejected in the B-lA
escape capsule. The capsule
came down heavily, killing
him and injuring the other
two.
The suit, filed on February
5, claims that the components
were negligently, wantonly,
and recklessly designed and
tested and lists Ordnance
Engineering Associates and
20 other unnamed individuals
as defendants.
Rockwell B-lBs are to be
equipped with ejection seats
rather than the older B-lA's
capsule.
FLIGHT International, 23 February 19S5'